At the peak of Narukami, cherry blossoms forever bloom, and lightning silently resides.
Everyone knows that Inazuma has two Gods: one is the Raiden Shogun, who presides over eternity, majestic and inviolable; the other is Yae Guji, who presides over the Grand Narukami Shrine, cunning, wise, and peerlessly graceful.
However, how could mere mortals know that above the clouds, within the Shrine, there is an unknown fate between the two?
[Chapter One: Purple Cherry Blossoms, Dual Gods Descend]
In the era when chaos first began and Gods contended, the continent of Teyvat was engulfed in war, and the land of Inazuma was no pure land either.
At the heart of battlefields filled with mountains of corpses and the wails of spirits, two figures, in this endless slaughter and destruction, relied on each other, stepping on the bones of their enemies hand in hand, ascending to the Divine Throne step by step.
One was the Raiden Shogun of later generations, Raiden Ei, whose Divine Name was Beelzebul.
She was the supreme War God of Inazuma, the embodiment of thunder, and the sharpest blade of eternity.
At that time, although she already showed the nascent form of her future cold and solitary self, her brows carried a few more traces of the battlefield's fierce killing intent.
A Polearm, Engulfing Lightning, was like a living thing in her hands, entwined with purple lightning. Each strike was accompanied by earth-shattering thunder and the wails of fallen Gods.
Her body moved with her will, her blade turned with her thoughts; all the thunderous light in the sky was an extension of the weapon in her hand.
Her purple eyes on the battlefield held only absolute calm and an obsession with victory, reflecting the pervasive smoke of war and the shattered mountains and rivers, as if unable to tolerate the slightest personal emotion.
She was Raiden Ei, an existence that made all demons tremble in fear.
However, even the most formidable martial prowess, without adaptability and strategy, would inevitably fall into encirclement. Yet, by Ei's side, there was never a lack of those eyes that calculated everything.
That was Yae Miko.
Unlike Raiden Ei, Miko was not a War God, but her wisdom and grace had already begun to show their sharp edge.
She did not always stand at the front lines, wielding a blade alongside Ei; more often, she was hidden in the shadows, her Shrine Maiden attire as white as snow, a playful smile that saw through everything always on her lips.
She was Ei's "brain."
The enemy's deployments, weaknesses, and even the greed and fear in their hearts, none could escape her captivating fox eyes.
She gently shook the Kagura's Verity; the bells were not crisp, but carried a mesmerizing magical power that could disturb enemy morale and boost her own side's.
With a flick of her finger, she could cast layers of illusions, causing powerful Gods to lose their way and fight among themselves.
With a slight parting of her vermilion lips, a few words could reveal the key to the battle, or with sharp rhetoric, subdue the enemy without fighting.
The pinnacle of martial might and the zenith of wisdom were thus perfectly combined.
Once, to cover the retreat of her tribe, Ei single-handedly fell into the encirclement of three powerful Gods. Though the lightning was intense, it gradually dimmed within the corrupted domain jointly established by the opponents. The naginata sliced through the arm of one God, but a deep wound, visible to the bone, was left on her own shoulder armor, divine blood soaking her robes.
"Ei!"
Miko, who had been calmly observing the battle, subtly changed her expression; her usual smile instantly vanished, and a hint of sharpness flashed in her eyes. She no longer hesitated, forming hand seals, and a massive fox spirit phantom appeared behind her, its nine tails swaying, pure spiritual power forcefully tearing open the corrupted domain.
"Now, your opponent is me." Miko's voice was cold, and a powerful mental shock directly struck the core of the three Gods.
Seizing the moment when the opponents were mentally shaken by Miko's intervention, lightning burst forth from Ei's eyes, and the suppressed thunderous power within her body erupted completely!
There were no fancy moves, only ultimate speed and power concentrated into a single line.
The splendor of that single strike became the final sight in the lives of the three Gods who had surrounded her.
The lightning dissipated, and the Gods were slain. Ei leaned on her sword, panting slightly, the wound on her shoulder slowly healing under the power of thunder.
Miko instantly moved to her side, her slender fingers brushing over her blood-stained shoulder armor, her fingertips trembling imperceptibly, yet her tone had returned to its usual lazy teasing: "Really, being so reckless... If something were to happen to you, wouldn't my 'brain' be useless?"
Ei looked up at Miko, who stood beside her, eyes full of worry yet feigning ease. Her cold lips seemed to soften ever so slightly for an instant. She said nothing, only reached out and gently squeezed Miko's cool fingers.
Everything was understood without words.
The smoke of war had not yet dispersed, and the bloody sunset lengthened their figures, intertwining them as if they had been inseparable from the very beginning.
They had both experienced betrayal.
Once, a chief general under her command defected at a critical moment, almost leading Ei into a fatal trap. It was Miko's pre-planted secret pawn who exposed him in time, and when Ei wielded her blade to clean house, Miko blocked a poisoned arrow from the shadows for her from behind.
They also shared the joy of victory.
When the last hostile Godly force vanished under the combination of thunder and wisdom, the sky of Inazuma for the first time presented a clear tranquility.
Ei stood at the peak of Tenshukaku, overlooking her nation, while Miko quietly stood by her side, handing her a cup of warm sake.
"Look, this is the eternity we protected together." Miko chuckled softly.
Ei took the wine cup, her fingertips gently touching Miko's. She gazed at the myriad of lights gradually illuminating below, and softly replied, "Mm."
eternity with you is the only one that has meaning.
The smoke of the Archon War finally dissipated, and the era of the Seven Archons descended. But the rules of the Archon War were cold and merciless; only one God could remain per nation.
But this did not deter them, who had long been accustomed to symbiosis.
"I will impersonate you."
"My illusions are sufficient to deceive, and my wisdom is enough to deal with all factions. I will become the peerlessly majestic Raiden Shogun in the eyes of Inazuma's people, and you will become my Kagemusha, and also... my trump card, my only one."
Thus... Yae Miko became the only visible Baal, the Raiden Shogun of Inazuma, governing the nation with wisdom and authority, dealing with the gaze of the Gods and Heavenly Principles.
Raiden Ei, in turn, impersonated Yae Miko, becoming the Shrine Maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine, completely receding into darkness to become Miko's most perfect Kagemusha, the ultimate military guarantor of Inazuma, the silent guardian of the rules of eternity.
Together, they formed the complete God of Inazuma, one in light, one in shadow, complementing each other.
Raiden Ei, with supreme martial power and the will to control eternity, ascended to the position of the Raiden Shogun, honored as the Raiden Shogun.
And Yae Miko became the Shrine Maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine, managing the affairs of the Shrine.
The world only knows that Lord General is peerlessly majestic and the Shrine Maiden is mysterious and wise, but they do not know...
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